[Nhcoll-l] Telling formalin from ethanol

[Best, Megan]

Hello all,
I've been benefitting from the conversations on this listserv for some time now, really fascinating and useful stuff.  I manage a research collection, mostly of marine invertebrates, and I have a question:

Is there an easy way to tell if a fixative is formalin or ethanol?  Aside from the smell test!  I'm looking to organise hundreds of jars from various benthic surveys, and we want to switch out anything that's in formalin to ethanol.  The formalin is buffered so I don't think a pH difference would be a strong indicator.  Any ideas/advice would be appreciated.

-Megan


Megan Best 
Invertebrate Taxonomy 
tel: 902.426.2791   email: megan.best at dfo-mpo.gc.ca 
Ocean and Ecosystem Sciences Division | Division des sciences de l'écosystème et de la mer 
Department of Fisheries and Oceans | Ministère des Pêches et Oceans 
Government of Canada | Government du Canada 
Bedford Institute of Oceanography | Institut Océanographique de Bedford
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